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GLOBAL TAX WEEKLY ISSUE 40 | AUGUST 15, 2013 a closer look SUBJECTS TRANSFER PRICING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY VAT, GST AND SALES TAX CORPORATE TAXATION INDIVIDUAL TAXATION REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY TAXES INTERNATIONAL FISCAL GOVERNANCE BUDGETS COMPLIANCE OFFSHORE SECTORS MANUFACTURING RETAIL/WHOLESALE INSURANCE BANKS/FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS RESTAURANTS/FOOD SERVICE CONSTRUCTION AEROSPACE ENERGY AUTOMOTIVE MINING AND MINERALS ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA OIL AND GAS COUNTRIES AND REGIONS EUROPE AUSTRIA BELGIUM BULGARIA CYPRUS CZECH REPUBLIC DENMARK ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GREECE HUNGARY IRELAND ITALY LATVIA LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MALTA NETHERLANDS POLAND PORTUGAL ROMANIA SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND UNITED KINGDOM EMERGING MARKETS ARGENTINA BRAZIL CHILE CHINA INDIA ISRAEL MEXICO RUSSIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH KOREA TAIWAN VIETNAM CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN BOSNIA CROATIA FAROE ISLANDS GEORGIA KAZAKHSTAN MONTENEGRO NORWAY SERBIA TURKEY UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN ASIA-PAC AUSTRALIA BANGLADESH BRUNEI HONG KONG INDONESIA JAPAN MALAYSIA NEW ZEALAND PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SINGAPORE THAILAND AMERICAS BOLIVIA CANADA COLOMBIA COSTA RICA ECUADOR EL SALVADOR GUATEMALA PANAMA PERU PUERTO RICO URUGUAY UNITED STATES VENEZUELA MIDDLE EAST ALGERIA BAHRAIN BOTSWANA DUBAI EGYPT ETHIOPIA EQUATORIAL GUINEA IRAQ KUWAIT MOROCCO NIGERIA OMAN QATAR SAUDI ARABIA TUNISIA LOW-TAX JURISDICTIONS ANDORRA ARUBA BAHAMAS BARBADOS BELIZE BERMUDA BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS CAYMAN ISLANDS COOK ISLANDS CURACAO GIBRALTAR GUERNSEY ISLE OF MAN JERSEY LABUAN LIECHTENSTEIN MAURITIUS MONACO TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS VANUATU GLOBAL TAX WEEKLY a closer look Global Tax Weekly – A Closer Look Using the unrivalled worldwide multi-lingual research Alongside the news analyses are a wealth capabilities of leading law and tax publisher Wolters of feature articles each week covering key Kluwer and its new acquisition BSI (The Lowtax current topics in depth, written by a team of Network), CCH publishes Global Tax Weekly –– A senior international tax and legal experts and Closer Look (GTW) as an indispensable up-to-the- supplemented by commentative topical news minute guide to today's shifting tax landscape for all analyses. Supporting features include a round-up tax practitioners and international fi nance executives. of tax treaty developments, a report on important new judgments, a calendar of upcoming tax Topicality, thoroughness and relevance are our conferences, and “The Jester's Column,” a light- watchwords: BSI's network of expert local researchers hearted but merciless commentary on the week's covers 130 countries and provides input to a US/UK tax events. team of editors outputting 100 tax news stories a week. GTW highlights 20 of these stories each week Read Global Tax Weekly –– A Closer Look in under a series of useful headings, including industry printable PDF form, on your iPad or online through sectors (e.g. manufacturing), subjects (e.g. transfer Intelliconnect, and you'll be a step ahead of your pricing) and regions (e.g. asia-pacifi c). world on Monday morning! GLOBAL TAX WEEKLY ISSUE 40 | AUGUST 15, 2013 a closer look CONTENTS FEATURED ARTICLES Dutch Flow-Th rough Entities In Th e Finance Act 2013 Introduces Th e UK’s Netherlands: An Economic Impact Analysis New Statutory Residence Test by Prof. dr. Gerard T.K. Meussen, Professor of tax law by David Klass and Janice Houghton, Gide Loyrette at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands Nouel LLP 32 and technical advisor to BDO Tax Consultants, Tilburg, the Netherlands 5 OECD Project On Intangibles: Revised Discussion Draft Released Th e Rising Tide Of Tax In France by PricewaterhouseCoopers 36 by Stuart Gray, Senior Editor, Global Tax Weekly 9 Topical News Briefi ng: Th e Double-Edged Tax And Th e Treasury Center: Sword Of Park’s Tax Policy Cash Management And Cash Pooling by the Global Tax Weekly Editorial Team 42 by Mark Minihane, Associate Partner, International Tax Services, Ernst & Young LLP, Birmingham, UK 26 Tax News From Th e Middle East by KPMG Partners In Th e Region 43 Topical News Briefi ng: Bolting Th e Door To A Carbon Tax Australian Elections: Assessing Th e Parties’ by the Global Tax Weekly Editorial Team 31 Tax Plans by Stuart Gray, Senior Editor, Global Tax Weekly 47 NEWS ROUND-UP Country Focus: South Korea 55 Off shore 59 South Korea To Finalize Property Tax Changes Off shore Company Formations Have Slowed South Korea Introduces 2013 Tax Bill Gibraltar Border Tax Row Escalates South Korea Government’s Tax Policies Under Fire Hong Kong’s Advantages Promoted In New Zealand Bermuda, US Treasury Complete FATCA Negotiations Jersey To Submit To New Regulations On EU Savings Tax Country Focus: United States 63 Regional Focus: Africa 72 House Passes Anti-US Carbon Tax Amendment South African Business Warns Over New Carbon Tax US Study Criticizes Increased CGT Rates US Discusses Future African Trade Initiatives IRS Disputes Tyco Debt Interest Deductions Amended Customs Bills Submitted To SA Parliament US Expats Giving Up Passports To Avoid Tax Obligations Morocco Confi rms Large Farms To Lose Tax Exemption US Treasury Releases 2013-14 Tax Guidance Plan TAX TREATY ROUND-UP 76 SMEs 69 CONFERENCE CALENDAR 78 IMF Addresses Japanese Consumption Tax Dilemma IN THE COURTS 96 Bulgaria To Launch Cash Accounting Option THE JESTER'S COLUMN 101 US Small Businesses Pay Highest Tax Rates Th e unacceptable face of tax journalism For article guidelines and submissions, contact [email protected] FEATURED ARTICLES ISSUE 40 | AUGUST 15, 2013 Dutch Flow-Through Entities In The Netherlands: An Economic Impact Analysis by Prof. Dr. Gerard T.K. Meussen, Professor of tax law at the Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands and technical advisor to BDO Tax Consultants, Tilburg, the Netherlands Commissioned by Holland Financial Center The survey expresses that the Netherlands is a (HFC), the Amsterdam based SEO research tax-wise attractive location for the establish- group researching the economic value of tax ment of flow-through entities. Not so much structures of foreign companies in the Nether- because of the applicable corporate income tax lands. 1 Th e Holland Financial Center foundation rate (which is reasonable in respect of global tax is a public-private initiative set up by organiza- rates) but because of the absence of source taxa- tions from throughout the fi nancial sector, the tion on interest and royalty payments and the government and regulators. Th ey include banks, vast (98) bilateral treaty network. It should be insurers, trading fi rms, pension funds, asset man- kept in mind that the absence of source taxa- agers, audit fi rms, law fi rms and the government. tion in the Netherlands is not something new, As a joint venture, the purpose of the Holland but that it already exists for many decades. Fur- Financial Center is to strengthen the fi nancial thermore there is a genuine willingness of the sector in the Netherlands . Netherlands tax administration to issue tax rul- ings in order to give entities established in the Th e study took place after questions from the Netherlands legal certainty about their present House of Representatives to Secretary of Finance or future tax position. Frans Weekers and a series of articles called "Tax Route Netherlands" in Het Financieele Dagblad According to the survey, in the year 2010 there in the years 2011 and 2012. Th e study includes were approximately 12,000 special fi nancial insti- the special fi nancial institutions (also referred to tutions (entities) established in the Netherlands. as letter box companies or SPVs 2 ) and non-bank Th e dividend, interest and royalty fl ows in 2010 fi nancing (known as shadow banking). Th e term amounted to a total of around EUR153bn (in- letterbox is used in this research for companies that coming) and EUR125bn (outgoing). Dividends are, for tax reasons, without signifi cant commer- are here the dominant power, with 70 percent and cial or operational presence in the Netherlands. 60 percent of the total, respectively. 5 Of the 12,000 entities in the Netherlands there are on the other hand this also makes a substantial con- more than 5,000 belonging to a cluster – compa- tribution to the Netherlands economy. nies that are part of the same group. Taking these clusters into consideration, according to the re- However, the study provides no evidence for the search about 8,500 multinationals have established assertion of the Netherlands State Secretary of Fi- their fi nances through the Netherlands by means of nance Weekers, that fi nancial SPVs of foreign cor- one or more SPVs. Special purpose entities contrib- porations settled in the Netherlands eventually ute according to the survey an estimated amount grow into a headquarters or distribution center. of EUR3 to EUR3.4bn a year to the Netherlands economy in the form of taxes, labor and services Politically sensitive is the conclusion of the re- purchased as business services. Of this amount, ac- search group that developing countries, as a re- cording to the researchers, EUR1.2bn relates to the sult of tax treaties with the Netherlands, based on payment of corporation tax. In addition, SPVs, as a rough estimate in the year 2011, are forgoing part of that EUR3 to EUR3.4 bn per year in 2011, approximately EUR145m in tax revenues every according to the researchers paid EUR1bn dividend year. Here according to researchers various nu- withholding tax. Th e latter, however is questioned ances have to be taken into consideration, such as by the tax world as SPVs are set to up to avoid divi- the fact that developing countries can also benefi t dend withholding tax. from tax treaties. It is fairly obvious that politi- cians will ask for more research on the topic of Th us SPVs are providing (directly and indirectly) developing countries. A lot of politicians at least according to the researchers, employment of around fi nd it unethical to use bilateral tax treaties in a 8,800 to 13,000 jobs (FTEs).